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CHALLENGED

 - 8 dictionary results

chal⋅lenged

  [chal-injd]
Use CHALLENGED in a Sentence
–adjective
1. (used as a euphemism) disabled or handicapped (usually prec. by an adverb): physically challenged.
2. deficient or lacking (usually prec. by an adverb or noun): ethically challenged.
Origin:
1980–85, Americanism

chal⋅lenge

  [chal-inj] noun, verb, -lenged, -leng⋅ing, adjective
–noun
1. a call or summons to engage in any contest, as of skill, strength, etc.
2. something that by its nature or character serves as a call to battle, contest, special effort, etc.: Space exploration offers a challenge to humankind.
3. a call to fight, as a battle, a duel, etc.
4. a demand to explain, justify, etc.: a challenge to the treasurer to itemize expenditures.
5. difficulty in a job or undertaking that is stimulating to one engaged in it.
6. Military. the demand of a sentry for identification or a countersign.
7. Law. a formal objection to the qualifications of a particular juror, to his or her serving, or to the legality of an entire jury. Compare peremptory challenge.
8. the assertion that a vote is invalid or that a voter is not legally qualified.
9. Biology. the process of inducing or assessing physiological or immunological activity by exposing an organism to a specific substance.
10. Hunting. the crying of a hound on finding a scent.
–verb (used with object)
11. to summon to a contest of skill, strength, etc.
12. to take exception to; call in question: to challenge the wisdom of a procedure.
13. to demand as something due or rightful.
14. Military. to halt and demand identification or countersign from.
15. Law. to take formal exception to (a juror or jury).
16. to have a claim to; invite; arouse; stimulate: a matter which challenges attention.
17. to assert that (a vote) is invalid.
18. to assert that (a voter) is not qualified to vote.
19. to expose an organism to a specific substance in order to assess its physiological or immunological activity.
20. Archaic. to lay claim to.
–verb (used without object)
21. to make or issue a challenge.
22. Hunting. (of hounds) to cry or give tongue on picking up the scent.
–adjective
23. donated or given by a private, corporate, or government benefactor on condition that the recipient raise an additional specified amount from the public: a challenge grant.
Origin:
1175–1225; ME chalenge < OF, var. of chalonge < L calumnia calumny

Related forms:
chal⋅lenge⋅a⋅ble, adjective

Synonyms:
11. dare, bid, invite. 12. question, impute, doubt.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To CHALLENGED
chal·lenge   (chāl'ənj)   
n.  

    1. A call to engage in a contest, fight, or competition: a challenge to a duel.

    2. An act or statement of defiance; a call to confrontation: a challenge to the government's authority.

  2. A demand for explanation or justification; a calling into question: a challenge to a theory.

  3. A sentry's call to an unknown party for proper identification.

  4. A test of one's abilities or resources in a demanding but stimulating undertaking: a career that offers a challenge.

  5. A claim that a vote is invalid or that a voter is unqualified.

  6. Law A formal objection to the inclusion of a prospective juror in a jury.

  7. Immunology The induction or evaluation of an immune response in an organism by administration of a specific antigen to which it has been sensitized.

v.   chal·lenged, chal·leng·ing, chal·leng·es

v.   tr.

    1. To call to engage in a contest, fight, or competition: challenged me to a game of chess.

    2. To invite with defiance; dare: challenged him to contradict her. See Synonyms at defy.

  2. To take exception to; call into question; dispute: a book that challenges established beliefs.

  3. To order to halt and be identified, as by a sentry.

  4. Law To take formal objection to (a prospective juror).

  5. To question the qualifications of (a voter) or validity of (a vote).

  6. To have due claim to; call for: events that challenge our attention.

  7. To summon to action, effort, or use; stimulate: a problem that challenges the imagination.

  8. Immunology To induce or evaluate an immune response in (an organism) by administering a specific antigen to which it has been sensitized.

v.   intr.

  1. To make or give voice to a challenge.

  2. To begin barking upon picking up the scent. Used of hunting dogs.


[Middle English chalenge, from Old French, from Latin calumnia, trickery, false accusation; see calumny. V., from Middle English chalengen, from Old French chalangier, from Latin calumniārī, from calumnia.]
chal'lenge·a·ble adj.
chal·lenged   (chāl'ənjd)   
adj.  

  1. Having a disability or impairment.

  2. Deficient or lacking: an ethically challenged politician.

Usage Note: People who object to the terms disabled and handicapped as being too negative sometimes propose the substitution of challenged instead, as in referring to persons with physical disabilities as physically challenged. While this particular phrase is quite popular, it is sometimes taken to be condescending, and similar usages such as mentally challenged have failed to win equal acceptance. Indeed, the widespread parody of challenged in such expressions as electronically challenged for "inept at using computers" has effectively eliminated it as an all-purpose alternative to disabled or handicapped.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

challenge 
1292, from O.Fr. chalenge "accusation, claim, dispute," from L. calumnia "trickery" (see calumny). Accusatory connotations died out 17c. Meaning "a calling to fight" is from 1530. Challenged as a euphemism for "disabled" dates from 1985.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Legal Dictionary

Main Entry: challenge
Function: noun
1 : a calling into question; especially : a questioning of validity or legality : OBJECTION challenge to the statute is in effect a challenge of this basic assumption —Kramer v. Union Free School Dist. Number 15, 395 U.S. 621 (1969)> —see also BATSON CHALLENGE
2 : a request to disqualify a trier of fact (as a jury member or judge) —compare RECUSAL, STRIKE
challenge for cause
: a challenge esp. of a prospective juror based on a specific and stated cause or reason
challenge to the array
: a challenge of an entire jury that raises objections to the selection process
peremptory challenge
: a challenge esp. of a prospective juror that does not require a stated cause or reason
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 2challenge
Function: noun
: the process of provoking or testing physiological activity by exposure to a specific substance; especially : a test of immunity by exposure to an antigen after immunization against it

Main Entry: chal·lenged
Function: adjective
: having a disability or deficiency : HANDICAPPED challenged athletes —Craig Hansell> challenged clients who are diagnosed with schizophrenia—Michelle Runge>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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